Mortising chisel with adjustable positioning means



E. L. SCHLAGE Jan. 4, 1955 MORTISING CHISEL WITH ADJUSTABLE POSITIONING MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 24, 1951 INVENTOR. A i/V1571. 569246! E. L. SCHLAGE Jan. 4, 1955 MORTISING CHISEL WITH ADJUSTABLE POSITIONING MEANS Filed May 24, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 NTOR.

United States Patent POSITIONINGMEANS' Ernest ;I. Schlage, Burling'am'e, Calif.,.a ssignor toSchlage Lock Company, a corporation App i at on Ny ember 24; 1951, S i 258, 98 6 Claims. c1, 1441-2 7) My invention relates'to device's especially useful in'connection'with the installation of a lock set in a door and its cooperating" door 'jamb; and is especially concerned with a mortising' tool-for use, among other'things, by a carpenter in setting the strike plate-properly in the door iamb not only with respect to the stop bar but primarily with respect to the latch or lock bolt.

In the customary installation of a lock set in a door and door jamb, his, the practice first to install the lock set with the latch bolt o'r' lock bolt at a predetermined height from the floor and at a predetermined dimension from the leading edge of the door. It is then necessary for the door jar'nh to be mortised and cutto receive a strike plate in exactly the right'location' with respect to the'leadingfledgeofthe door, 'as'd etermined by the stop bar on the tdoortjamb, and at precisely thjerigh't' height from the floor. some small tolerance is permitted in the relative location of thelatch or dock bolt and the strike plate opening :when the door is closed but his desirableit'o locate the part's astclosely as possible with respect toeachothert'o insure smooth and easy operation of the lock and to prevent binding or undue .i'ooseness or rattling.

One. of the principal type's' of lock sets now available is installed ,by boring holes in the door to obviate the necessity of .rnortis'ing for the entire lock but it is still necessary to mortise the face-plate of the lock 'into the doorand to mortise the ,strike plate into the door frame ,or jarnb. Ideally; the strike plate and the faceplate reg- ,istcrkexactly when the door is shut if they are'exaetly of the same configuration and size, .but in' many instances the sizes :vary.

Ittis therefore an object of my invention -toprovide a mortising tooltor use by a workman so that the strike plate and the face plate of a k set can be appropriately 'install'ed without difliculty and accurately;

A stilffurtherobject of my invention is to ,p rovide a mq'rtising tool particularly for use with a lock setof the type mentioned for assisting in the proper installation of the lock set.

A still further objectof my invention is to provide a mortising tool which can. readily be utilized by thejusu'al workman without special instruction or without undue A 'still further object of rny inventionis to proyide a mortising tool rugged and durable for repeatedius e, yet quite accurate in its effect to afford over a longperiod of n time a useful means forproperlyisetting' lock-sets.

:ingthe mort-ising tool intwoidistinct locations;

' 'Fig'ur'e 2 is anisometric view of the mortising tool,

:parts'being'removed into exploded-position for clarity.

Figure 3 is a cross section through vthe mortising tool,

portions being broken away, theplanarvsectionfbeirig on a general horizontal plane.

'Figure4 is a fragment showing a cross slectionthe plane of which is indicated by the line 4--4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a cross section on a ve1 tical 'plane throug-h -a modified form of mortisingtool of'my 'invention.

Figure 6 isa view sirnila'rito Figure 5 but showinga still 2,698,636 Fatented Jan. 4, 1955 .ig ure 7 is an elevation of a further modified form of m mp1, t, it it Th tising tool. is cnstoxnarily'ut'ilized in connection with a doof'frame 6, having 'a' sto bar '7 included'therewith a Y whicha" door 8i's hinged for swinging moveusi'lal fa'shion. 'Forthe'installatidnot tlielock et,-the door is pierced by a throughbo're 9"a'nda'r i'in t'ertion, the edge IZof ed' with "inset fectangula'rnrea syjnied"w'ith' respect to th'e'bor'elf and de- 'd to rece ved face plate, not shown "I'nthe'hsual ce,"thecanpenterliasvno difiic'ulty locating the center eraxis forthe' t "if ngh nere' S? at a predetermihed'dist'arice from the floor and at, a predetermined distance frornjthe edge 12Yofthe deer." Neither flees hehaveany particular difiic'iilty' iniboring the bore 11' at a proper location with res 'iect'to" the bore 9 and since the centers of these'holes are accurately dis osedhe h'eislittle difli'ctiltyin' laying out by template ,or' otherwise the outline of Ithe'mortise I3. This portion 'of' the work i'susually done easily and with considerable accuracy. A difiicultyarises in providing a corresponding mortise 151" inset int'o tlie door aine'o'r jainb' 6"not so mucl l'in g'the zr'idiitifsfe'at t I e desired height from thefloor, but particularly to give'it 'a properly located outline to receive an lppropr'iate strike plate, "not' shown; "The having a pair of cavities" 17am 1810 reduce the Weight of the structn I On one side "1913f the fr'ame'I provide a; ir of'guide bos' ses 21an'd 22. The outline orferivelope jeonfigur'ation ofltheguide boss 21- is exactly that orisub- ,stantitill th'at'of'a' st "lie plateof a relatively large'size whe the configuration of the guide boss" 22 is exactly fer antianygthat of afa'cetplate of a somewhat smaller size. 'Iiithe present instance it happens that the vertical dimensions ,of the large and smallface" plates are identical so thatitheverticaldimensions of the guide; bojs'se's21and 'ZZcorreSPQI Gi Iy are identicaL' The width of the jtwo possible'fface plates is difiernt. "Corresponding'ly; the width of theflgui'de boss'22'is less than the Widthofjtlie u es-( 58 annniougn these bosses are both symmetrianynispn ed with jre'gatd to the centenof'thefr'arneI6.

I 'g edges 3.3 defines :accurately jth'efoutline pf a mortise 14." The mortise- 141 isusu'allyof somewhat larger" configurationftha'n. that".of the mortise 1 3' s that'the e veldefigu' 'definedihythe cuttingjje'dg'es of ailarge'r con gurationlandiis'"accurately locatedin lieteiminedpesition with respect to' the guidje'bo'sses afirzlv M isincefthe cutter 2,6 isvoftenutili'zed to provide a mortis'e 14f of anstric'tly rectangular configuration {for the receptionl of 21 strike .plate for .a i latch bolt,'. thei knivesllfi part1 provide g such" anrouthne'.

Upon occasion thefother- Wise rectangular mortise 1'4iis by manually [made cuts extended :laterally of..the jamblfizto prevideian extension to .r.eceive. a strike lplat'e havingalip'f In that instance 'pted to provide .a 'pair'flof notches l34' 'appr'opr'iately loe'a ed 'so th'afl a'ny cufmade by the knife has [interruptions in' it 'frhese indicate the proper vposition'of a ch selforfmaking lateral; cuts to provide an extension'i afi of theim'orti se 14.

Since' it isfdfesired' that 'the knives 26 or. cutters be, effecat least to rriark or 7 preferably to cut the i'mate'rial of the jalnb 6, I providelon" the frame 16 a preje'c impact, member 37 symmetricany disposed 'With respect hft'lie' various knives in: the cutter 2'6; a The impact 'rnei'ii- Ber 3,-7 'projects' fl'to' a substantial distancefaiid terminates n a hsr aened cap ss' aganst which'a nanmertanqee 3 struck. The hammer blow, because of the symmetrical location of the impact member, is properly and approximately uniformly distributed to the various parts of the cutter.

Since, as especially shown in Figure 1, the mortising tool is intially located in the door with the guide boss 22, for example, nested in the mortise 13, the configuration of the impact member 37 is preferably circular cylindrical so that it is an easy or freely sliding fit within the bore 11. Preferably the diameter of the impact member is considerably less than the diameter of the bore 11 so that the guiding of the mortising tool or its location with respect to the door is accomplished solely by the guide boss 22 (or the guide boss 21 in an appropriate case) and not at all by the impact member 37.

If, however, the bore 11 is accurately made, a larger diameter impact member can be properly used as a guide either with or without the guide bosses.

Once the mortising tool has been located in the door, as shown in Figure l, with the guide boss 22 in position within the mortise 13 and with the frame 16 pressed firmly against the edge 12 of the door, the particular relationship of the individual mortise 13 in the particular door is sensed by a gage plate 41. This is preferably a metallic, generally rectangular plate having an offset 42 such that the near side 43 of the gage plate and the far side 44 thereof are in part disposed in the same plane. The gage plate between its ends is also provided with a strengthening embossment 46 and is centrally pierced by an aperture 47 of a non-circular contour. purpose of mounting the gage plate on one end of a slide 48. A removable fastening screw 49 effectuates a connection of the parts with a flat side 51 of the slide being engaged by the corresponding rim portion of the aperture 47 and with the gage plate abutting a shoulder 52 on the slide. A firm non-rotatable connection is thus made between the gage plate and the slide.

The dimensions of the gage plate are such that its surface 43 readily overlaps and abuts the edge of the door 8 whether or not the edge 12 is provided with the customary bevel and is suflicient so that an adequate bearing area is afforded for abutment with the stop bar 7 but is such that the gage plate stops short of the general plane of the cutter 26.

The slide 48 is preferably a tube extending through a cross bore 53 in the frame 16. A fiat 51 on the slide is in rubbing contact with the lower edge of the blades 29 and 31 so that a non-rotatable connection is provided, thus maintaining the gage plate non-rotatably disposed with regard to the frame 16. The slide is freely movable transversely of the frame between one extreme position with the gage plate in abutment with the side of the frame and another extreme position in which a shoulder 54 on the slide abuts a lip 56 in the frame 16.

The slide is normally freely slidable between these limits but means are provided for clamping the slide in any selected position. Extending axially into the slide is a shaft 57 having a thumb wheel 58 on one end thereof and having an eccentric portion 59 turned thereon. A crescent shaped brake shoe 61 is located in the bore and is confined within a notch cut in the slide 48. When the thumb wheel 58 is turned, the eccentric 59 in one position allows adequate play between the brake shoe 61 and the wall of the bore in the frame 16. As the thumb wheel 58 is rotated the eccentric 59 drives the brake shoe 61 against the wall of the bore with considerable force. The eccentric itself is frictionally retained against free rotation on the shoe. This affords a frictional brake against movement of the slide which can be set by an operator and stays in set position or can be released immediately by the operator for further setting.

In the use of the structure, the mechanism is disposed first as shown in Figure 1 with the mortising tool located in the door itself. As soon as the guide boss is located in the mortise 13, the gage plate 41 is moved to bring the surface 43 into close abutment with the side of the door. The thumb wheel 58 is then turned to lock the adjustment and the mortising tool is then withdrawn from the door. Without disturbing the locked adjustment, the mortising tool is then disposed at the proper distance from the floor (readily marked) against the door frame 6 and with the surface 44 of the guide plate in abutment with the stop bar 7. The workman then strikes the impact member 37 with a hammer and the cutter 26 impresses its outline in the material of the door frame and This is for the actually provides an outline cut to serve as a guide for subsequent chiseling. As soon as the mark has been made the mortising tool is withdrawn for future use. The workman then can cut out the appropriate mortise as just marked and can if necessary likewise cut an exten' sion 36 to receive a strike plate with a lip.

The mortise so marked and provided is exactly located with respect to the mortise 13 so that upon subsequent installation of the lock in the door and the strike plate in the door frame the desired interrelationship and location of the parts is afforded. Since the gage plate 41 is adjustable over a wide range, the mortising tool can be utilized with doors of varying thicknesses and with stop bars 7 of various relationships to the door frame. The gage plate, being offset, provides what in effect is a common plane for location with respect to the door frame.

Advantage is taken of the bore 11 to afford room for a substantial, long impact member which extends a good distance from the mortising tool so that it is easily struck by a hammer and so that any missed blows do not damage the surrounding material. The knives are easily removed for sharpening and for replacement and when the knives are removed the slide can be entirely disassembled for inspection, cleaning or repair. The tool is readily usable by any workman and does not require special technique or special additional tools for its successful operation.

In some instances it is desired to provide a mortising tool which can be utilized on a door itself after the bore 11 has been made but prior to the time that the mortise 13 has been cut. This same tool, slightly modified, is useful for that purpose if the door and jamb mortises are the same size. If the sizes are different, the knives are appropriately changed. As shown in Figure 5, the frame 16 is provided with a threaded bore 65 into which a stationary plug 62 or plunger is screwed. The plug 62 is of slightly larger diameter than the impact member 37 and is of a diameter snugly to fit slidably into the bore 11 to serve as a locating device.

After the plug 62 has been inserted into the bore 11, and it projects substantially beyond the cutter 26 for that purpose, the gage plate is then brought snugly against the side of the door 8. The final approaching movement of the gage plate against the door rotates the plug and the frame 16, if necessary, until the plate is in full contact with the door. Thus, the mortising tool is held against further rotation and with the cutters 26 in exactly the right position. A blow on the impact member 37 is then effective either to cut the outline of the mortise completely or by a light cut to mark the location of the outline of the mortise. When the tool is then withdrawn, the mortise can be appropriately deepened and the face plate installed with the lock. The plug 62 is provided with a screw driver slot 63 or, being only lightly positioned, can be turned out of the frame 16 which is then usable exactly as in connection with the form previously described in marking or starting the mortise in the door frame.

As a still further modification and to avoid the necessity of having a detachable or loose piece, the bore 11 of the door 8 as shown in Figure 6, can be utilized as a guide by a plunger 66. In this instance, the plunger is a plug pressed by a spring 67 into its outermost position against a stop ring 68. It is freely movable within a recess 69 extending into the frame 16. When the plunger 66 projects it is sufficiently beyond the cutters 26 to serve as a guide but when it is depressed upon subsequent use of the tool against an unbored surface, it does not in any way substantially restrict the movement of the cutters 26 into the door or jamb material when the impact member 37 is struck. To afford adequate room for the plunger 66, the slide 48 with its attendant mechanism is displaced to one side of the center and a balancing guide bar 71 is provided. The use of this tool is exactly the same as the use of the tool shown in Figure 5 except that it is not necessary at any time to remove the plunger 66.

In the event the mortising tool is to be utilized largely for mortising door frames for strike plates having lips, as in the instance of latch bolts rather than lock bolts, the frame 16 is made with a cutter 26 including not only the customary knives 27, 28, and 29 but is particularly contoured to furnish an extension 72 on which relatively short, individually secured knives 73 and 74 are provided in the rectangular location. In addition, very short knives 76 and 77 are provided on the sides of the extension and are held by fastening screws 78. The knives 76 and 77 are in the proper location, corresponding to the location of the notches 34, to afford marks or cuts for the lip of the strike plate and are of suflicient transverse extent so that they run past the edge of the door frame 6. When this tool is utilized, the mark or cut is such that the outline of a strike plate with a lip is afforded. The tool can be adapted for use with a strike plate for a latch bolt by removing the additional knives 76 and 77. The remaining knives are properly located and the uncut materialtis not of very great extent.

What is claimed is:

1. A mortising tool for forming the mortise to receive the face plate of a lock set used in combination with a door wherein the vertical side edge of said door is provided with a lock bolt opening, said tool comprising a frame having a projection extending outwardly from one side thereof and adapted to be struck by a hammer, cutting means projecting outwardly from the opposite side of said frame and having coplanar cutting edges defining the contour of said face plate, a plunger projecting outwardly of said frame from said opposite side and positioned with respect to said cutting edges in the same relationship as said bolt opening and the contour of said face plate whereby said plunger may be positioned in said bolt opening to position said cutting edges on the side of said door in a position corresponding to the position of said faceplate, said plunger being reciprocably mounted in said frame and yieldable means in said frame urging said plunger to outwardly projected position at all times, said plunger being movable inwardly of said frame against the resistance of said yieldable means to permit said cutting edges to be positioned against a surface not having a hole therein.

2. A mortising tool for forming the mortise to receive the face plate of a lock set used in combination with a door wherein the vertical side edge of said door is provided with a lock bolt opening, said tool comprising a frame having a projection extending outwardly from one side thereof and adapted to be struck by a hammer, cutting means projecting outwardly from the opposite side of said frame and having coplanar cutting edges defining the contour of said face plate, a plunger projecting outwardly of said frame from said opposite side and positioned with respect to said cutting edges in the same relationship as said bolt opening and the contour of said face plate whereby said plunger may be positioned in said bolt opening to position said cutting edges on the side ofsaid door in a position corresponding to the position of said face plate, said plunger being reciprocably mounted in said frame and yieldable means in said frame urging said plunger to outwardly projected position at all times, said plunger being movable inward- 1y of said frame against the resistance of said yieldable means to permit said cutting edges to be positioned against a surface not having a hole therein, a slide mounted in said frame and movable in a direction parallel to the plane of said cutting edges, a gage plate on said slide movable with said slide to a position with a surface of said plate in engagement with a face of said door, whereby one of said cutting edges may be positioned parallel to said door face when said surface is in engagement with the latter.

3. A mortising tool for forming the mortise to re ceive the strike plate of a door set used in combination with a door and its associated jamb wherein the vertical side edge of said door is provided with an opening adapted to receive a part of a lock and said jamb is provided with a stop adapted to be engaged by a face of said door when the latter is closed, said tool comprising a frame, means forming a position locator extending outwardly from one side of the frame and adapted to be received in said opening, cutting means projecting outwardly from the side of said frame opposite from the position locator and having cutting edges defining the contour of said strike plate, a slide carried by said frame for non-rotative movement parallel to the said one side thereof, a gage plate secured to said slide for movement therewith to an adjusted position in engagement with the stop engaging face of the door when the position locator is in said opening for defining the distance between the said face and said cutting means, means for releasably locking said slide in such position whereby said tool may be removed from said door and placed with said gage plate in engagement with the door jamb stop and with said cutting edges in engagement with the door jamb for defining the contour of the mortise to be cut in the latter, said gage plate comprising two portions in fixed offset relation to each other with one face of one portion coplanar with the oppositely corresponding face of the other portion whereby said one face of said one portion is adapted to engage the jamb stop engaging face of the door and said oppositely corresponding face of said other portion is adapted to engage the jamb stop.

4. A mortising tool comprising: a body, cutting means carried by said body and projecting outwardly from one side thereof and provided with cutting edges disposed in a common plane, said body having a passage extending therethrough parallel to said plane, a slide mounted in said passage for adjustable non-rotatable longitudinal movement therealong, a gage plate fixed on one end of said slide, a locking element carried by the slide for movement therewith in the passage, and means in said slide operable from the other end of said slide for releasably moving said locking element into frictional engagement with the wall of the passage to lock the slide relative to said body.

5. A mortising tool of the character stated comprising a rectangular frame body, knife blades secured to the frame body and having cutting edges lying in a common plane and positioned forwardly of a side of the body, the cutting edges defining a substantially rectangular outline, the body having a passage transversely therethrough paralleling said plane, the side of the body opposite from the first mentioned side having a work contacting face, a position locating means carried by the said opposite side of the body, an elongate slide in and extending through said passage for longitudinal movement therein, a unitary gage plate secured to one end of the slide for movement thereby toward and away from the adjacent side of the frame body, said gage plate consisting of two portions in parallel offset relation, one portion having a working face directed toward the adjacent side of the body and the other portion having a working face directed away from the adjacent side of the body, said working faces lying in a common plane paralleling the said adjacent side of the body, the said one portion extending in a direction away from the knives beyond the said work contacting face of the frame body, said gage plate being secured to the slide against turning movement thereon, and means for locking the slide in a position of longitudinal adjustment in the passage transversely of the frame body.

6. A tool according to claim 5, wherein the slide is tubular and said locking means comprises a shaft in the slide and projecting therefrom at the end remote from the gage plate, the shaft having an eccentric recess portion, a brake shoe lying in said eccentric recess and adapted to be moved into frictional engagement with the wall of the passage by rotation of the shaft, and means on the projecting end of the shaft for facilitating turning of the same.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 403,518 Cooper et al May 21, 1889 453,045 Gutzman May 26, 1891 537,870 Thielen et a1 Apr. 23, 1895 761,861 Wagner June 7, 1904 1,629,053 Schrader May 17, 1927 2,399,145 Schmidt Apr. 23, 1946 2,422,367 Quigley June 17, 1947 2,434,472 Roddenberry Jan. 13, 1948 2,500,800 Carlson Mar. 14, 1950 

